# preposition
## English
### Etymology 1

From Middle English preposicioun, from Old French preposicion, from Latin praepositio, praepositionem, from praepono (“to place before”), equivalent to pre- +‎ position. Compare French préposition. So called because it is placed before the word with which it is phrased, as in a bridge of iron, he comes from town, it is good for food, he escaped by running.

#### Alternative forms

* præposition (archaic)

#### Pronunciation

* enPR: prĕp-ə-zĭsh'ən, IPA: /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
* Audio (US):(file)

#### Noun

preposition (plural prepositions)
* (grammar, strict sense) Any of a class of non-inflecting words and multiword terms typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense, with some other word: a particle used with a noun or pronoun (in English always in the objective case) to make a phrase limiting some other word.
** 1844, E. A. Andrews, First Lessions in Latin; or Introduction to Andrews and Stoddard's Latin Grammar, 6th edition, Boston, page 91:322. The parts of speech which are neither declined nor conjugated, are called by the general name of particles. 323. They are adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.
** 1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 9, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 495:And in (121) below, we see that when a wh-NP is used as the Object of a Preposition, the whole Prepositional Phrase can undergo WH MOVEMENT: (121) (a) [To whom] can I send this letter —? (121) (b) [About what] are they quarrelling —? (121) (c) [In which book] did you read about it —?
** 2014 June 1, “Net Neutrality”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 1, episode 5, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:I love this girl. “On which I can get my hands” — even in her darkest moment, she cannot bring herself to end a sentence with a preposition.
* (grammar, broad sense) An adposition.
* (obsolete) A proposition; an exposition; a discourse.
** 1811 [1516], Robert Fabyan, edited by Sir Henry Ellis, The New Chronicles of England and France‎, page 116:[…] he made a longe preposicion & oracion cōcernynge yͤ allegiaūce which he exortyd his lordes to owe

##### Hypernyms

* (grammar, strict sense): adposition; part of speech; term; word

##### Hyponyms

* (grammar, strict sense): intransitive preposition, phrasal preposition, preposition of place

##### Coordinate terms

* (grammar, strict sense): circumposition
* (grammar, strict sense): postposition

##### Derived terms

* intransitive preposition
* phrasal preposition
* prepositional
* prepositionally
* prepositional phrase
* preposition of place
* preposition of time

##### Related terms

* prepose
* prepositive

##### Translations
#### See also

* preverb

### Etymology 2

From pre- +‎ position.

#### Alternative forms

* pre-position

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɹiːpəˌzɪʃən/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)

#### Verb

preposition (third-person singular simple present prepositions, present participle prepositioning, simple past and past participle prepositioned)
* (sometimes proscribed) Alternative spelling of pre-position.
    It is important to preposition the material before turning on the machine.

##### Translations
## Finnish
### Noun

preposition
* genitive singular of prepositio

## Interlingua
### Noun

preposition (plural prepositiones)
* (grammar) A word that is used in conjunction with a noun or pronoun in order to form a phrase.

## Swedish
### Noun

preposition c
* a preposition (part of speech)

#### Declension

| | | nominative | genitive |
| singular | indefinite | preposition | prepositions |
| singular | definite | prepositionen | prepositionens |
| plural | indefinite | prepositioner | prepositioners |
| plural | definite | prepositionerna | prepositionernas |

#### Related terms

* prepositionell
* prepositionsadverbial
* prepositionsattribut
* prepositionsuttryck

### References

* preposition in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)